Synergy
by MugiwaraMarimo
Summary: Share the love month entry. I really don't have a summary honestly lol Just some simple Zoro and Perona interaction during the two years.


Zoro would say that he was in his element, except that he wasn't. He wasn't in the middle of a heated battle where he would be focusing on the thrill of kill or be killed, the thrum of energy and passion rushing around his veins that came with it. He was in the shitty cook's and damn that bastard to hell for it! He hadn't seen the narcissistic twit in a year and a half, yet still found himself drawn to the sea. The fucking ocean was his one solace he had on this damned island.

He rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms; the scar still new and itching, blinking his remaining eye back into focus. The slight pain from his palm still there, the swordsman took a deep breath and sighed. He leaned forwards on his knees, forearms resting against them as his hands hung limply between them. Weerily he looked out across the darkening water. Another day down and another day closer to being back with his nakama.

The surf crashed against the smooth sand, almost lulling his tired body to sleep by sound alone. All the times he would pass out on the deck of either the Sunny or the Merry swirling in his head like the water in the small rock pool that lay near by. It was times like this he wished he was back on the Sunny, drifting across this pristine element and not just looking at it. Back to sailing and adventuring with Luffy and the others. The next six months could not go by fast enough for him. The time apart had been needed, he knew that now, but it was still _hell_ being here and he missed his nakama immensely.

They annoyed him to no end, interrupted his naps, lets not forget constantly got lost and just genuinely caused a ruckus, but he missed them just the same. Franky and Brook's perversion, Chopper's innocence, Luffy and Usopp's playfulness, Nami's resolution and Robin's creepy vibe. Yes, even the shit cook, and his food, thought he wouldn't admit it openly, and had begun to count down the days to when he could leave. Not that this experience hadn't been eye opening or anything, because it certainly had been. Snorting at his stupid use of ironic words, the swordsman chuckled to himself under his breath.

Zoro got up, rising swiftly to his feet, kicking off his boots and shrugging off the green jacket he had begun to wear. Crossing his arms, he pulled his haramaki over his head, throwing that with the rest of his things onto the rock. Double checking that his precious swords were still in place at the side of the stone, wrapped tightly in the red sash that had been another new addition to his attire; he made the short trip to the water's edge.

The water lapped at the rocks, the small waves breaking along the sand sounding reminisce to the way they lapped at the Sunny's hull and with out hesitation the swordsman plunged in. Running till the water over took him, falling into the cool shallows and just letting the water drift him about. Even in this few feet of water, it was like floating, sinking into the depths of the vast ocean the few times they had stopped to go swimming.

He was always aware of his surroundings, even during meditations, but here, under the waves, Zoro could relax, even if just for a moment. Here the only things he had to worry about was not breathing and fish, but both of those were minor thoughts at this exact moment. The feel of the water currents pulling at his hair and limbs was at the forefront of his mind and Zoro tried to let the rock of the waves be what over took his mind.

The need to breathe overpowered him eventually and he sat up, resting lightly on his knees as he gulped in air. An annoying familiar presence invaded his senses and he turned back towards shore, not at all surprised to find a Negative Hollow drifting lazily across the water towards him. The long tongue sticking out of the side of the damned ghost's mouth made him roll his eye and frown back towards shore. The other, he noted, was on the sand with their owner, bobbing quietly. Using his hands and arms to keep himself upright, drifting along with the tide, he blew water off his nose and couldn't help the small chuckle that rose in his throat.

Perona was wide eyed, feet turned inward towards each other as she clung comically to her umbrella. "I thought you were dead! You were just floating under the surface!" Her voice was still annoying, grating on his nerves with it's gravely high pitch whenever he heard it. "So not cute!"

"Just enjoying some peace and quiet for once!" Standing, Zoro noted how she hovered near his things, but not close enough to alarm him. She was just as aware now of how important those swords were as the rest of the Strawhats were. "What do you want?" He grumbled, crossing his arms and shivering slightly against the breeze.

"I brought the fishing poles!" She squeaked, pointing with a manicured finger to the pile near her feet. Wading back towards shore, one of her ghosts swooped by, laughing as it ruffled the swordsman's hair as it passed. The pink haired girl giggled herself, some how her bizarre 'horo horo horo' still managing to echo in the open space of the beach. The swordsman ignored the Hollow and her laughter in favor of picking his way across the smooth sand, feeling the way the water trailed off his body and pants as he closed the gap between them.

Bending down, Zoro picked up his favorite of the two poles, poking the slim end at Perona. "This you or your projection? You make your ghosts carry all this out here?!"

"Stop that!" Swatting the pole away, she dropped to the ground, folding her umbrella and setting in against the rock. "It's me!" She spat out, the slight ever present gravelly tone to her voice becoming predominant with her growling.

"Just checking." Zoro grunted out, dropping into the sand in a cross-legged position and getting to work tying lures and hooks to the poles once again. The ghost princess leaned over his shoulder, watching closely as the swordsman made short work of one pole before holding it up. "Here."

"Yay!" Taking it, Perona bounded off, jumping into the air and soaring over the water. She made it out a few yards before stopping and turning back, sinking back to the ground in front of Zoro's crossed feet. "Um...Zoro...?" She asked, digging the toe of one boot into the sand. She watched quietly a moment as he worked on stringing the other pole, having snapped the line on it the last time they were here. Again one of her ever present Hollows swooped at him. He swore they did it just to fuck with him.

He squinted up at her and she bit at her lip to stop herself from laughing. The scar on his eye was no laughing matter, even if it did make him look rather funny. "What?" The swordsman asked gruffly. He wiped water off his face with a hand as he watched the ghost princess intently. There was no fear there of being attacked. Instead Zoro was simply curious as to what the big eyed pleading look was all about. Not that he had ever been afraid of Perona in the first place, instead the strange flying girl giving him the creeps, but even that had faded as of late. A lot of time had passed since Thriller Bark and that faithful day. They both were wiser and stronger, but there was more to it than that.

"Can you put a worm on here?" Perona asked quietly, all her former annoyance gone. This was how the two had managed to get along all this time he realized. Yeah, Mihawk was around...but there was also a lot of time he wasn't and the two needed to depend on each other for every little thing. They spent the first few months after the swordsman recovered with him trying his damnedest to ignore her. The night she knocked on his door with the sake bottles and the two climbed up onto the roof near his balcony...well he climbed, she flew...the bitch; things had changed between them.

Perona was still annoying, always getting on his nerves and wanting him to occupy her time. He had lost count of how many times he had woken up to her in his face, an evil grin and demand to play with her. He would never admit it either, but he had become rather proficient in the task of applying nail polish. The ghost princess could take care of her own, same as Nami and Robin could. She had proven that more than once when the two had actually gotten into fights, but Zoro was beginning to feel as strongly about her as he did his crew mates. There was a built respect there now, even if the two didn't ever talk about it. Somewhere he knew he would miss her once he went back. She was still always yelling at him and calling him an uncute bastard when he refused to play dress up with her, but with the latest addition to his regime of scars, Zoro had realized things had shifted greatly and he was beginning to consider her nakama as well.

The fleeting thought of if the others were having the same experiences as him crossed his mind, but he shook it from his thoughts in favor of coming back to the present. Those wide round eyes were still pleading with him as Perona hovered close.

The swordsman sighed, dropping his own hook into his lap and leaning over to the small container of worms he had dug up just that morning. "For someone who is into the creepy and weird, I find it funny you won't touch a worm." Picking one out, he motioned for the end of her rod, easily and deftly securing the squirming creature onto it and letting it go to dangle and sway at the end. "There."

"Thank you!" And she was gone again, off floating over the water where she could catch bigger fish and brag that she was the better fisher of the two. If he could get out there and still cast, he would show her a thing or two about fishing!

"Don't break my pole!" He barked at her from where he turned to finish with the second pole.

"Shut it!" Came her growled reply, the words humming across the water with ease.

Standing and grabbing the bait container, he padded silently through the damp sand, hopping up onto a rock and working his way out along a small outcropping till he was several yards away from the beach as well. He always seemed to get larger fish near here and he allowed himself a smug little grin as he hooked a worm onto his own poke and cast with ease.

The sound of the water filled the silence again along with a small swooshing sound of the ever present Hollows as Zoro plunked his ass onto a flat rock and just watched. Some type of water fowl sounded somewhere and a canine howl answered. "Hey, Zoro," Perona took this time to break the silence as well, reeling in her line and casting again. "Are you excited to go back?"

"Hmm? I suppose so." He flicked his attention towards her, ducking slightly as one of her ghosts came just a tad too close to him. He scowled at it as it cackled a 'negative' laugh at him and continued. "I won't miss your Hollows."

"They like you! That's why they bother you." She giggled herself, drifting closer to him and letting her line trail through the water. Zoro grunted as he recast his line, making sure to flick his wrist towards the right just a bit more so he didn't catch the floating pink haired girl. The two fell into the typical comfortable silence they usually held until Perona took a deep breath and sighed. "If I write you, will you write back?"

"I doubt it. I most likely won't have time Perona." She frowned at him and he frowned back, raising an eyebrow as she sank to the rock next to him. Moving to give her some room to sit, Zoro ran a hand through his hair, tugging lightly at the longer strands before turning to face her. At least she had enough courtesy to sit on his right side. "I will try alright. Not going to guarantee anything. This is Luffy we are talking about."

"Stupid Strawhat." Jutting her lip out in a pout, the pink haired girl leaned against Zoro's shoulder, dropping the hand holding her pole between her legs. "You better make time!" She barked, the slight gravely edge to her voice coming out in full stride. The back of her free hand smacked against Zoro's leg and he ignored the hit as he huffed at her, heaving his shoulders dramatically simply for effect.

"Yes; cause I'm going to be able to dictate what we do and don't do." Zoro frowned, reeling in his line and recasting, chuckling to himself as the end of the pole slashed through one of the Hollows. Perona clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes at the ghost, snapping her fingers and pointing off to the side, where it moped off to.

"I expect a letter every week." She said pointedly, turning her nose into the air and twirling her hair through her fingers.

"What?!" The swordsman barked, jerking back on his line and turning his attention towards it as something pulled against it. "You can't make demands of me like that!"

"I just did!" She shot back, rising off the rock and floating over towards the line of Zoro's pole where it dipped under the water. "Whatcha catch?" Her voice rose in her excitement and the swordsman growled as he glanced over to his abandoned pole next to him before turning back to the line in the water.

"I don't know!" Zoro barked. "Man, sometimes you are worse than Luffy! I swear Perona."

"Ooohhh! It's a big one! Might be bigger than any of mine." Crossing her arms, she frowned, watching the fish dart back and forth under the water as the swordsman fought to reel it in. "Reel it in idiot! We can have fish tonight!"

"Shut up! What do you think I'm doing?! Damn witch!" Rising to his feet, he struggled with the fish, silently boasting that it may very well be bigger than anything the ghost princess had ever pulled in. "Can't you get your Hollow to go do whatever it is you do?"

"That doesn't work on fish!" She barked at him, crossing her arms and turning upside down so the tips of her pony tails dragged across the water. "Only brainless swordsmen."

"Hey!" He growled out, stepping back on the rocks as he slowly reeled in his line. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go gather some wood? We can make a fire right here in the sand and eat."

"Oh! What a great idea!" And she was gone, thankfully, in a flash, leaving Zoro to bring in the huge fish by himself. It took longer than he would have liked, but the giant grin he couldn't keep off his face at the size of the damned thing, made him forget about the fight he had to put up with to get it. So, while he dragged it across the sand and gut it, Perona built a fire. She and her Hollows pushed a log over to one side for them to sit on and the two both exhaled a deep sigh as they sank onto it, watching the fish char nicely and the smell of roasting meat filled the air.

Leaning against each others shoulders, the two were silent, content to listen to the crackling, popping and hissing of green wood, the occasional owl hoot and wolf call breaking the darkening night silence. It was a comfortable quiet, neither of them needing to break it nor speak. There was no need to. "Let me up," Zoro finally said at one point, moving to the first rock to gather his things and Perona's umbrella, shouldering his coat and fixing the collar.

Sitting back down, he propped his swords and the frilly umbrella against the log, picking up a long stick and poking at the coals. Perona sighed next to him, her stomach growling loudly. "Can we eat it yet?"

"Yeah, I think." With a nod, he watched as the girl floated over to the fish with a small knife that came from the tackle box and poked at it curiously. "Oh, just give me that." Rising to his feet, Zoro held out his hand, wrapping his fingers around the handle of the knife as it was smacked into his hand, a pout on the ghost girl's face. "What?" He asked as he sliced off a chunk of the fish, dropping it to the flat rock that lay at the edge of the fire.

"I could have done it!" Crossing her arms and jutting her lip out farther, the swordsman clicked his tongue and rolled his eye.

"I want to eat tonight Princess."

"Shut up! We would have! I was just making sure it was done first." Mumbling the last part, the pink haired girl drifted around the fire and sank back onto the log as Zoro sat his ass back on the wood as well, leaning forwards to pick at the fish on the rock. She reached out as well, picking off a small piece and blowing on it before popping it into her mouth, curling her lip in disgust at Zoro next to her. "Really?" She started, causing him to pause with cheeks puffed full of food as he bit out a muffled 'what.' "You eating habits are not cute in the slightest."

With a rough swallow, he leaned forwards to grab at more of the meat. "You're worse than that shit cook."

"I am nothing like him. Ugh..." Rolling her eyes, she pushed Zoro in the shoulder with her hand as he chuckled, sitting back up and mimicking her. "He's so annoying."

"Yeah, that's one thing we can agree on." Nodding, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, kicking his legs out and feeling the warmth of the fire against the bottoms of his feet. The two fell silent once more, picking at the food and listening to the night, the gentle lull of the waves a calming backdrop to their evening.

The fire died down eventually, causing Zoro to frown at the remaining fish that was there. Luffy would have had it gone in a second, bones and all if no one stopped him. He could hear the ero-chef yapping somewhere in the back of his head to not waste anything and he scratched at his hair as he thought about what to do with the remaining food.

"What do we do with the rest of this?" Perona mumbled next to him, still leaned against his shoulder. Looking down at her as best as he could, he shrugged. "Think the Humandrils will eat it?"

"No idea. I never stop to ask them questions." Jerking his shoulder, the swordsman dislodged the girl, much to her dismay and stood, stretching. The several pops to his back were welcoming, the dull ache of moving again working their way out of his muscles as he walked to finally retrieve his boots. Zoro stomped into them as Perona stood as well, scowling at him and snatching up her umbrella.

"I say we just leave it for them. Take some back with us that we can carry and put out this fire."

"Hmm...not a bad idea. Grab that bucket you brought and get some water then. I will cut some of this meat off. They are near by anyways, it's time to start heading back." Zoro grabbed the bucket, swinging it lightly and tossing it towards the ghost girl.

"Yeah," Rising off the log, she caught the bucket as it was thrown to her and easily swooped out to the water, scooping up a bucketful and dumping it across the fire with a loud hiss and a cloud of steam.

Swords back to their rightful place, Zoro walked over to the fish, hands on his hips as he sized it up for a moment, then shook his head. "If you take all the fishing gear, I can carry this back."

"All of it?"

"All of it." He nodded sharply. "I can just leave it on the stick. Warm some sake in the morning, cook some rice and...breakfast!" The swordsman grinned, all proud of himself as the Ghost Princess clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. She gathered up the fishing gear, landing next to Zoro once done and nodded. With a grunt, the swordsman hefted the fish over his shoulder, adjusting the stick in his hands. "Okay, let's go."

"You're so stupid." Sticking her tongue out at him, Perona took off again, flying off towards the manor, her Negative Hollows following, leaving Zoro to scowl in her wake. It didn't last too long though, the quiet lapping of the water on the rocks lulling back into the silence as he walked along, keeping a watch for the crazy creatures who called this island home. Just a little more and it would be over with. Just a little more and he would be with his crew again, back out in the shit cook's element where he belonged.


End file.
